Diwali Inspirations

Although I've been busy preparing for Halloween parties and a baby shower, the Indian festival of "Diwali" is also coming up soon and I've also been scouring the web for ideas for our family's celebration this year.

Diwali is the festival of lights. The most common traditional decorations for Diwali consist of "Diyas" (candles/lamps), "Rangolis" (intricate floral designs drawn on the ground with colored powder, rice and grains), "Torans" (banners), decorated puja thalis (the plate used in prayer ceremonies) and lots of fresh flowers.

More to come on what I'm planning for Diwali this year, but in the meantime I wanted to showcase some of the great ideas I've found on the web. Of course, I'm also planning on drawing a lot of inspiration from the Indian themes in my recent "Bollywood Karoake Party"! I'm also going to "repurpose" many of the items from that party! ;-)

Check out these amazing diyas from http://reshmi-on-art.blogspot.com/2009/10/making-colourful-diwali-diya-designs.html. Diyas are small clay pots, decorated with vivid colors and designs. They are filled with oil and a home-made wick, which is lit, to create a candle-like effect. Reshmi, you are very talented!

I love this simple, yet elegant, entryway feature from http://rangdecor.blogspot.com/

Here is a very traditional rangoli design from http://festivals.iloveindia.com/diwali/diwali-rangoli.html.

This rangoli from http://diwali-celebrations.blogspot.com/2009/09/floral-rangoli-for-diwali-rangoli.html is made of fresh flower petals. I absolutely love the effect (and fragrance!) this creates. It's also far less messy than colored powder, which is a huge bonus if you've got small children "helping" you!

This design from http://www.theholidayspot.com/diwali/home_decorations.htm combines rangoli and diya elements.

Here is another rangoli created with flowers from http://www.gharexpert.com/.

This rangoli reminds me so much of the "60" sign I made for the Bollywood Karaoke party (see below), which was made with paper flower petals...(I hear the creative wheels turning...)

This idea, also from http://www.gharexpert.com/, utilizes diyas to create a giant "Om" symbol.  

 
The website http://www.bharat9.com/ featured this puja thali, and also contains several "how-tos" on how to decorate your own.

A simple and charming thali design from http://ilesh-myworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/diwali-pooja-thali-decoration-ideas.html, also with a "how-to".



The blog http://diwali-day.blogspot.com/2009/09/diwali-puja-gifts.html has several more examples of thalis such as this.

Well, that definitely got my creative juices flowing! I can't wait to show you what I come up with. Stay tuned...